Ariane 6 / Launch vehicles / Launchers / Our Activities / ESA ESA > Our Activities > Launchers > Launch vehicles Ariane 6 ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions. This move is associated with a change in the governance of the European launcher sector, based on a sharing of responsibility, cost and risk by ESA and industry. The participating states are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Ariane 6 objectives and main missions The overarching aim of Ariane 6 is to provide guaranteed access to space for Europe at a competitive price without requiring public sector support for exploitation.

Different concepts have been examined for Ariane 6 such as single- and dual-payloads, solid or cryogenic propulsion for the main stage, and the number of stages (three or more), all to cover a wide range of missions: GEO, either directly or through intermediate orbits, in particular GTO and LEO, Polar/SSO, MEO or MTO, other. The targeted payload performance of Ariane 6 is over 4.5 t for polar/Sun-synchronous orbit missions at 800 km altitude and the injection of two first-generation Galileo satellites. Ariane 6 can loft a payload mass of 4.5–10.5 tonnes in equivalent geostationary transfer orbit. The exploitation cost of the Ariane 6 launch system is its key driver. Launch service costs will be halved, while maintaining reliability by reusing the trusted engines of Ariane 5. The first flight is scheduled for 2020.

Ariane 6 elements Artist's view of the two configurations of Ariane 6 Ariane 6 has a ‘PHH’ configuration, indicating the sequence of stages: a first stage using strap-on boosters based on solid propulsion (P) and a second and third stage using cryogenic liquid oxygen and hydrogen propulsion (H). Ariane 6 provides a modular architecture using either two boosters (Ariane 62) or four boosters (Ariane 64), depending on the required performance. Two or four P120 solid-propellant boosters will be common with Vega C, an evolution of the current Vega launcher. The main stage containing liquid oxygen and hydrogen is based around the Vulcain 2 engine of Ariane 5. The upper stage of Ariane 6 builds on developments for the Adapted Ariane 5 ME, and cryogenic propulsion using the Vinci engine. It will be restartable and have direct deorbiting features to mitigate space debris. Flexibility is a design characteristic for A64 and A62. The launcher responds to different market needs by varying the number of boosters in the configuration.

The A62, with two P120 solid boosters, will be used mainly in single-launch configurations, while the A64 – with four P120 solids – will enable double launch of medium-class satellites over 4.5–5 t, mainly for commercial market needs. The main characteristics of the Ariane 6 concept are: The total length of the vehicle is about 62 m, The cryogenic main stage holdss about 150 t of propellants, the upper stage holds about 30 t, The external diameter of the cryogenic main stage and upper stages including the part that connects the fairing is about 5.4 m. Ariane 6 way forward ESA is overseeing procurement and the architecture of the overall launch system, industry is building the rocket with Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) as prime contractor and design authority. An industrial cooperation agreement has been signed between ASL and Avio for the P120C solid motor. While ESA provides the launcher requirements for institutional missions, industry is responsible for identifying commercial market requirements, given its future responsibility in the commercial exploitation of the launch system.

Work underway includes maturating key technologies, two parallel test campaigns of the Vinci engine, beginning the procurement of infrastructure, tools and products. An industrial review of the preliminary design of the launcher was completed in June 2016. The site of the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana has been chosen for which France’s CNES space agency is prime contractor. The Ariane 6 launch complex, ELA-4, will cover a surface area of 170 hectares of which 18 hectares will be buildings areas. The site is located 17 km away from the town of Kourou and 4 km west from the Ariane 5 launch pad (ELA-3). This location minimises the flight safety constraints linked to the vicinity of Kourou for launcher trajectories toward the East and North. Preliminary excavations were carried out by Eiffage, between summer 2015 and June 2016.

The industrial contract covering the construction of the infrastructures for the ELA-4 facilities was signed at the beginning of July 2016, and work started immediately to build: Launcher Assembly Building for Ariane 6 The Launcher Assembly Building (BAL), a structure 20 m tall, 112 m long and 41 m wide, located 1 km away from the launch zone. It is used for launch vehicle horizontal integration/preparation before rollout to the launch zone. Mobile gantry for Ariane 6 The mobile gantry – a 90 metre-high mobile metallic structure weighing 6000 tonnes when fully equipped, that rolls on rails equipped with platforms to access the appropriate launcher levels for integration on the launch pad. The gantry is moved away just before launch. Ariane 6 launch pad The launch pad with its two symmetric exhaust ducts, four lightning protection masts, and a water tower for deluge systems. The industrial prime contractors, CNES and ASL, who are responsible for the launch base and launcher respectively, have jointly agreed on developing a common family of test and control systems that will be used in Europe and French Guiana during the build, verification, integration and launch of Ariane 6.

These systems will be based on standard products developed, integrated and delivered by a single provider to meet the needs of the launch base and the launcher system. In October 2018, when the launch complex has been constructed, the validation phase will begin and is expected to be finalised mid-2019. Following a programme review in September 2016, the Participating Member States decided on the continuation of the programme. The riders to the contracts awarded in August 2015 were signed on 9 November 2016, confirming the timely continuation of the preparation of Europe’s Ariane 6 and its launch complex. By the first quarter of 2018, key decisions will be made on the exploitation of Ariane 6. Complementary preparatory work to secure the mid- to long-term competitiveness of European launch systems beyond Ariane 6 is also being carried out, with a focus on the definition of demonstrator requirements and technologies.

Last update: 28 November 2016 Rate this BBC ON THIS DAY | 24 | 1979: Europe launches first rocket 1979: Europe launches first rocket The first European-built rocket, Ariane 1, has successfully completed its maiden flight. The space launcher finally took off from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana on its third attempt. Test flight technicians have declared the flight an almost complete success. All three stages seemed to have fired and separated correctly and its tiny payload, an automatic tracking device, was put into the right orbit. The success of Ariane 1's maiden flight is a major boost for the European Space Agency which first gave the go-ahead for the rocket in 1973. The space launcher - built by the 10 nation European Space Agency - was due to blast off eight days ago but one of its four engines apparently failed to ignite and the launch had to be abandoned. Maiden flight A second attempt yesterday also had to be cancelled because of malfunctions in the third stage of the rocket.

It is hoped the rocket will now be used to launch commercially profitable television, communication and other useful satellites throughout the 1980s - in competition with the American shuttle programme. The rocket has been largely built by the French who have also borne 60% of the cost of the entire venture. The West Germans provided nearly 20% and the British are near the bottom of the list of contributors, providing less than 2.5% of the cost. As long as two out of its first four test flights are considered a success, Ariane has already got at least one order in the pipeline. The deal worth �22m would be to launch a communications satellite for Intelsat, the worldwide agency for spaceborne telephone, telex and TV links. In June of this year, a new company called Arianespace was formed to produce, market and finance the Ariane launch vehicle from the first quarter of 1980. The shareholders include 35 European companies, 10 banks and the French space agency CNES. Ariane 6 rockets likely to be assembled horizontally – Spaceflight Now June 24, 2015 Stephen Clark Updated June 25.

Artist’s concept of the Ariane 6 rocket in its “Ariane 64” configuration with four solid rocket boosters. Credit: CNES Construction of a new launch pad for Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, which sources say will likely be put together horizontally instead of vertically, is due to begin next week at an abandoned quarry site in French Guiana. The launch facility is to be ready for the Ariane 6’s debut flight in 2020, and the complex will include a launch mount, flame trench and buildings to support assembly of the two-stage rocket, its solid rocket boosters, and satellite payloads. Officials said the preliminary plan calls for the Ariane 6 rocket to be integrated horizontally, a practice long used for Russian launchers and more recently adopted by United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4 rocket family and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Two sources familiar with the Ariane 6’s ground systems said the two-stage core of the rocket will be put together on its side, but officials have not yet decided whether payloads will be added horizontally or vertically once the launcher is standing on the launch pad. A spokesperson from Airbus Safran Launchers indicated no final decision on the integration scheme.

The integration method differs from Europe’s previous Ariane launchers. Like its predecessors, the Ariane 5 rocket is stacked on top of a mobile launch platform, with technicians adding boosters, an upper stage, and satellites while the launcher stands upright. The Ariane 6 pad will be built at a former quarry a few miles north of the existing Ariane 5 launch complex. The site is already partially excavated and filled with water, reducing the amount of work needed to dig a basin for the Ariane 6’s flame trench. The European Space Agency plans to sign a multibillion-dollar contract in the coming weeks with Airbus Safran Launchers to finish development of the Ariane 6 rocket. The deal is expected to be arranged as a cost-sharing public-private partnership, with European governments contributing the bulk of the funding and Airbus Safran Launchers funding a minority percentage from its own coffers. Artist’s concept of the Ariane 6 rocket. Credit: CNES CNES — the French space agency — is in charge of the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport on the northern coast of South America.

It lies at approximately 5 degrees north latitude, close enough to the equator for launches to get a performance boost from Earth’s rotation. CNES announced June 19 it selected Eiffage TP, a French civil engineering firm, to start earthmoving work at the launch site June 29. “With the signing of this contract with Eiffage TP, CNES breaks ground on the construction of the Ariane 6 launch pad, in accordance with the decisions of the Luxembourg conference,” said Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of CNES. “The objective of CNES is a first launch of Ariane 6 taking place in 2020 in order to maintain Europe’s position as No. 1 worldwide in commercial satellite launches.” The 14.8 million euro ($16.6 million) contract covers preparation of the site for roads and buildings and the excavation of rock and soil. The contract runs 12 months, but CNES says the majority of the work must be completed during the next six months to coincide with French Guiana’s dry season. CNES says the launch site covers 170 hectacres — 420 acres — and the construction requires 1 million cubic meters of material to be moved.

The launch pad will be named ELA-4 — a French acronym for Ensemble Lancement Ariane — keeping with the naming conventions for previous Ariane launch zones. Eiffage TP plans to use use innovative soil treatment techniques using cement and hydraulic binder, allowing construction crews to use soil present at the launch site, CNES said in a statement. The technique reduces the need to transport soil and improves the carbon footprint and environmental impact during preparation of the launch pad. CNES touted the construction work’s local market impact. At least three-quarters of the work will go toward the French Guiana economy, according to CNES. The French space agency next plans to select contractors to build the launch pad’s support and assembly structures. Operated by Arianespace, which will soon be majority-owned by Airbus Safran Launchers, the Ariane 6 will come in two configurations to launch one or two large satellites at a time into low-altitude perches and geostationary orbits favored by commercial telecom spacecraft. The Ariane 6’s main stage will be powered by a hydrogen-fueled Vulcain engine based on the powerplant currently flying on the Ariane 5.

A new Vinci cryogenic upper stage engine is in development for the Ariane 6’s second stage. Depending on the mission, engineers can place two or four solid rocket boosters around the base of the rocket to help push the launcher off the pad. The more powerful Ariane 64 version of the rocket — with four boosters — can launch two large communications satellites at a time in a dual-payload configuration similar to the one currently used by the Ariane 5. ESA and its industrial partners have set 91 million euros ($102 million) as the target unit cost for the Ariane 64 version. If the rocket is sold at cost, two satellite customers could split the price for a launch at about $50 million each, a figure Arianespace expects will be competitive on the global market. European leaders approved the new rocket in a ministerial-level conference in December as the Ariane 5 faced competitive pressure from SpaceX, which offers launches at lower prices than other Western companies.

European Cargo Ship's Launch Delay Could Affect Shuttle Mission European Cargo Ship's Launch Delay Could Affect Shuttle Mission By Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor | February 16, 2011 10:30am ET MORE The Ariane 5 ES launcher photographed on 14 February 2010 during transfer from the Final Assembly Building (BAF) to the Launch Zone (ZL-3), at the Ariane Launch Complex no. 3 (ELA-3) of the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's space port. Credit: ESA - S. Corvaja, 2011 This story was updated Feb. 16 at 10:25 a.m. EST. The European Space Agency is once again counting down to launch a huge cargo ship toward the International Space Station today (Feb.16) after a one-day delay that may force NASA to push back its own flight of the shuttle Discovery next week.

The robotic spacecraft called the Automated Transfer Vehicle 2 — at more than 22 tons (about 20,000 kilograms), the heaviest European spacecraft ever built — is scheduled to blast off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:50 p.m. EST (2150 GMT). An Ariane 5 rocket will boost the spacecraft into orbit. The mission was delayed from yesterday due to "a measurement anomaly" in the rocket's super-chilled liquid oxygen propellant tank, ESA officials said. The ATV-2 space freighter carries the name of Johannes Kepler, after the German astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. ESA plans to fly at least five ATV cargo ships to support the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's ATV-2 Johannes Kepler during transfer from S5C to S5A, 19 November 2010, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.

Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace - Photo Optique Vidéo du CSG, 2010 Space station traffic jam If the ATV Johannes Kepler launches today, NASA will have to delay its own flight of the space shuttle Discovery by one day because of traffic concerns at the space station, NASA officials said. Discovery was slated to launch toward the International Space Station on Feb. 24 – one day after the Johannes Kepler was scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory. NASA opted to delay the launch of Discovery until Feb. 25, to give the Johannes Kepler time to launch, U.S. space agency officials said. But if the European cargo ship does not launch today, it would have to stand down until Friday, Feb. 18, before making its next launch attempt. If that situation arises, NASA would stick to Discovery's original Feb. 24 launch date. Top NASA mission managers plan to make final decision on Discovery's launch date at the end of this week. Automated Transfer Vehicles are ESA's contribution to delivering equipment and supplies to astronauts living on the International Space Station. The first of the fleet, the ATV-1 Jules Verne , flew to the space station in 2008.

Today's launch also marks the 200th flight for the European-built Ariane rocket family , which is overseen by launch service provider Arianespace. Europe's heaviest spaceship The Johannes Kepler is packed with 7.1 tons of supplies. The average ATV load is about 6 tons, but modifications to the Ariane 5 rocket allow the extra weight, ESA officials said. The cargo packed inside the Johannes Kepler includes 3,527 pounds (1,600 kg) of equipment and other dry supplies, 1,873 pounds (850 kg) of rocket propellant for the station's thrusters and 220 pounds (100 kg) of oxygen for the station's crew. Arianespace officials have said the total weight of the Johannes Kepler and its 7.1 tons of cargo adds up to about 44,202 pounds (20,050 kg). ESA's unmanned cargo ships are disposable craft designed to fly themselves once they reach orbit. The Johannes Kepler, for example, was scheduled to dock itself to a port on the end of the space station's Russian-built Zvezda module on Thursday, Feb. 24.

Astronauts living aboard the International Space Station have an abort button, which they can use to postpone the Johannes Kepler's approach if it veers off course. If an abort occurs, the craft will move out to a safe distance and then await approval to make another attempt, ESA officials have said. Backdropped by the blackness of space, the European Space Agency's (ESA) "Jules Verne" Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) begins its relative separation from the International Space Station. The ATV undocked on Sept. 5, 2008 and was placed in a parking orbit for three weeks, before deorbiting on Sept. 29 and burning up in the Earth's atmosphere. Credit: NASA Space station's robot fleet ATV spacecraft form part of the international fleet of robotic cargo ships to keep space station crews stocked up. Japan's second robotic craft – known as the H-2A Transfer Vehicle, or Konoutori (Japanese for "White Stork") – arrived at the space station on Jan. 27. Russia followed suit with its unmanned Progress 41 spacecraft, which launched on Jan. 28 and arrived two days later.

NASA plans to rely on its Russian, European and Japanese partners to deliver cargo to the space station once it retires its space shuttle fleet later this year. The U.S. space agency currently plans three more shuttle flights by July before retiring its three shuttles – Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour – after 30 years of service. You can watch the launch of the ATV-2 Johannes Kepler live via this European Space Agency link , or by visiting launch service provider Arianespace . You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik . Editor's Recommendations Ariane 5 Rocket Launches Weather Satellite, Communications Satellite European Rocket Launches New US Satellite, Weather-Tracking Spacecraft By Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor | July 6, 2012 01:25am ET MORE An Ariane 5 ascends from French Guiana at sunset with the EchoStar 17 and MSG-3 satellite payloads into orbit from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff occurred on July 5, 2012.

Credit: Arianespace A European-built rocket roared into space from South America Thursday (July 5) carrying two new satellites on very different missions. The unmanned Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from a pad at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, to send an American communication satellite and European weather-monitoring spacecraft into orbit. Liftoff occurred at 5:36 p.m. EDT (2136 GMT). Riding the heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket into space were the communications satellite EchoStar 17, built for the U.S. company Hughes Network Systems, and Europe's third Meteosat Second Generation weather satellite, which is also known as MSG-3. The satellites' launch was managed by European rocket provider Arianespace, builder of the Ariane 5 booster. "By orbiting these two satellites, we have once again demonstrated the flexibility of Ariane 5 – which was capable of simultaneously launching one of the largest telecommunications satellites ever built for an American private operator, along with one of the most capable meteorological satellites developed for a European government organization," Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said in a statement after the launch.

The EchoStar 17 satellite is a huge spacecraft that weighs 13,448 pounds (6,100 kilograms) at liftoff. It is a next-generation broadband satellite designed to provide services to users in North America for 15 years. [Amazing Rocket Launch Photos The MSG-3 spacecraft is the latest weather satellite to join Europe's Meteosat fleet in space. The 4,409-pound (2,000-kilogram) satellite is designed to provide high-resolution images of Europe, Africa and the North Atlantic to help meteorologist generate more accurate weather forecasts . The satellite is currently being controlled by the European Space Agency's (ESA) operations center in Darmstadt, Germany. But after a testing period to ensure the satellite is operating properly, control of the MSG-3 spacecraft will be turned over to its owners: the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), ESA officials said. Once that handover occurs, the satellite will be rechristened Meteosat-10, they added.

"Tonight's launch allows EUMETSAT and ESA to continue providing Europeans with high quality observations of weather from space, with MSG-3 being especially valuable in rapid detection and warning of extreme weather situations ," ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said in a statement. ESA has been working together with EUMETSAT to develop the Meteosat weather-monitoring satellites, as well as another Earth-observing system known as polar-orbiting MetOp. The two agencies are also working on a more advanced Meteosat system, the Meteosat Third Generation, to advance weather forecasting efforts even more, ESA officials said. "Once operational at the end of this decade, this next generation will provide a quantum leap in terms of technology and performance, providing among others faster imaging, more spectral channels and an atmospheric sounding capability allowing for the measurements of trace gas profiles," said Volker Leibig, director of ESA's Earth observation program. ESA and Eumetsat are also planning a new generation of polar-orbiting MetOp satellites (the MetOp Second Generation), which is due to be presented for review to ESA's governing council in November. Meanwhile, the next of the first-generation MetOp satellites to fly will launch on Sept.

19, ESA officials said. Thursday's liftoff marked the third Ariane 5 rocket launch of the year. Arianespace plans to launch its next mission on Aug. 2 to send the Intelsat 20 communications satellite into orbit. Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom . We're also on Facebook and Google+ . Editor's Recommendations Articles about Ariane Rocket - latimes Third Try's the Charm for European Rocket October 22, 1998 | JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG, TIMES STAFF WRITER After two major launch failures that threatened Europe's leadership of the satellite launch industry, the new Ariane 5 rocket scored a crucial success in a test flight from French Guiana on Wednesday. The 1.6-million-pound rocket thundered skyward, carrying a 2.6-metric-ton mock-up of a telecommunications satellite and a 2.8-ton capsule designed to drop off at an altitude of 125 miles for later recovery in the Pacific Ocean.

Advertisement New Ariane Rocket in Flawless Mission June 16, 1988 | From Reuters The first of a new generation of Western Europe's Ariane space rockets placed three satellites into orbit in a faultless mission from a South American launch pad on Wednesday. The successful launch of the Ariane-4 will stir up competition in the expanding world satellite launch market and help cut launch costs in the 1990s, space officials said. NEWS Ariane 4 Rocket Launches 2 Satellites November 21, 1990 | United Press International An Ariane 4 rocket successfully boosted a pair of American communications satellites into orbit Tuesday in the 40th flight of the French-built rocket system. Equipped with two strap-on, solid-fuel boosters for extra power, the 192-foot three-stage rocket took off at 3:11 p.m. PST and smoothly climbed away from its firing stand at the European Space Agency's jungle launch complex on the northern coast of South America.

BUSINESS Ariane Rocket to Take Off Today With Satellites by Ford Aerospace May 26, 1989 | DAVID OLMOS Ford Aerospace Corp.'s newest commercial satellite, the Superbird, is scheduled to be placed into orbit for the first time today when two of them, configured as communications satellites, will be carried aloft aboard a European Ariane 4A rocket launched from French Guiana. Susan Pearce, spokeswoman for Newport Beach-based Ford Aerospace, said the satellites will be used by their Japanese owner for video distribution, satellite news gathering, private business networks and, in the future, possibly for high-definition television. NEWS The World October 28, 1988 An Ariane rocket blasted off from the edge of a South American jungle in French Guiana, carrying a television satellite that promises to change the French broadcasting landscape. The five-channel satellite carried into a stationary orbit by the Ariane 2 rocket will beam TV shows directly to the home. Previously, satellite signals were picked up by large dishes owned by cable companies and networks, then relayed to viewers.

NEWS The Nation September 13, 1988 An American communications satellite owned by GTE Spacenet, launched last Thursday by a French Ariane rocket, was hurled into an incorrect orbit when an on-board rocket motor misfired, officials said. The G-Star 3 satellite, launched from the European Space Agency's jungle complex pad in French Guiana, was safely delivered to the correct preliminary orbit, as was another American communications satellite owned by Satellite Transponder Leasing Corp., by a French-built Ariane 3 rocket. NEWS Eastern Bloc Ties to 6 Accused in Ariane Spying Case Suspected March 21, 1987 | From Times Wire Services Six people arrested on espionage charges who allegedly sought information on the propulsion system of Europe's Ariane rocket were probably working for the Soviet Union or one of its allies in the Eastern Bloc, the chairman of the rocket program said Friday. NEWS Blast After Liftoff Destroys Ariane, 2 Satellites Aboard February 23, 1990 | Associated Press A West European Ariane 44-L rocket with two Japanese telecommunications satellites aboard exploded Thursday about 2 minutes after liftoff.

Arianespace President Frederic d'Allest said it blew up because of fire in its propulsion system. Arianespace, a consortium of European firms, took over the commercialization of the Ariane program from the European Space Agency in 1980. Ariane shots have become routine, with successful missions about once per month. NEWS Ariane Rocket Bearing TV Satellite Lifts Off August 9, 1989 | From United Press International A powerful French-built Ariane 4 rocket carrying a communications satellite and a star mapper streaked toward space Tuesday, 10 hours after the shuttle Columbia was launched in Florida. The 194-foot rocket, the most powerful launcher in the European inventory, streaked away from the European Space Agency's jungle launch complex on the northern coast of South America. NEWS Rocket Deploys TV, Astronomy Satellites August 9, 1989 | From United Press International A French-built Ariane 4 rocket roared into space Tuesday and deployed a communications satellite and a star mapper, officials said.

The liquid-fueled rocket, the most powerful launcher in the European inventory, streaked away from the European Space Agency's jungle launch complex on the northern coast of South America about 10 hours after the U.S. space shuttle Columbia lifted off in Florida. NEWS Ariane Flight Rescheduled July 5, 1989 | From Reuters The launch of an Ariane-3 space rocket, halted seconds before blastoff last Friday, has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, the Arianespace consortium said Tuesday. The rocket will place in orbit the European Space Agency's Olympus 1 satellite, which will transmit Italian and British television signals. NEWS The World June 6, 1989 Two communications satellites were lifted into orbit in the fourth of nine space flights planned by the European consortium Arianespace. An upgraded version of the Ariane 4, Europe's most powerful rocket, carried the double payload aloft to complete the European Space Agency's 13th successful mission.

The three-stage, 192-foot-long rocket, launched from the agency's jungle complex in French Guiana, delivered Japan's $100-million Superbird-A communications satellite and a West German television-relay station known as DFS Kopernikus 1 into orbit. BUSINESS Ariane Rocket to Take Off Today With Satellites by Ford Aerospace May 26, 1989 | DAVID OLMOS Ford Aerospace Corp.'s newest commercial satellite, the Superbird, is scheduled to be placed into orbit for the first time today when two of them, configured as communications satellites, will be carried aloft aboard a European Ariane 4A rocket launched from French Guiana. Susan Pearce, spokeswoman for Newport Beach-based Ford Aerospace, said the satellites will be used by their Japanese owner for video distribution, satellite news gathering, private business networks and, in the future, possibly for high-definition television. Ariane 4 Rocket Model Ariane 4 Rocket Model favorite Display Status: This object is on display in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Collection Item Summary: This is a 1:15 scale model of the Ariane 4. It was the fourth rocket built by the European Space Agency (ESA), a consortium of 11 Western European nations established in 1973 to design and produce launch vehicles and spacecraft. ESA developed six versions of the three-stage, liquid-fuel Ariane 4 that differed only in their use of liquid-fuel or solid-fuel strap-on rockets to increase boost at liftoff. Arianespace, a component of ESA, first launched the Ariane 4 in 1988 from its complex in French Guiana, South America. Since then the reliable Ariane 4 has been successfully used over 100 times to launch a variety of government and commercial satellites. Arianespace built this model and donated it to NASM in 1987.

Collection Item Long Description: A Bug and a Crash by James Gleick Sometimes a Bug Is More Than a Nuisance I t took the European Space Agency 10 years and $7 billion to produce Ariane 5, a giant rocket capable of hurling a pair of three-ton satellites into orbit with each launch and intended to give Europe overwhelming supremacy in the commercial space business. � �All it took to explode that rocket less than a minute into its maiden voyage last June, scattering fiery rubble across the mangrove swamps of French Guiana, was a small computer program trying to stuff a 64-bit number into a 16-bit space. � �One bug, one crash. Of all the careless lines of code recorded in the annals of computer science, this one may stand as the most devastatingly efficient. From interviews with rocketry experts and an analysis prepared for the space agency, a clear path from an arithmetic error to total destruction emerges. � �To play the tape backward: � �At 39 seconds after launch, as the rocket reached an altitude of two and a half miles, a self-destruct mechanism finished off Ariane 5, along with its payload of four expensive and uninsured scientific satellites.

Self-destruction was triggered automatically because aerodynamic forces were ripping the boosters from the rocket. � �This disintegration had begun an instant before, when the spacecraft swerved off course under the pressure of the three powerful nozzles in its boosters and main engine. The rocket was making an abrupt course correction that was not needed, compensating for a wrong turn that had not taken place. � �Steering was controlled by the on-board computer, which mistakenly thought the rocket needed a course change because of numbers coming from the inertial guidance system. That device uses gyroscopes and accelerometers to track motion. The numbers looked like flight data -- bizarre and impossible flight data -- but were actually a diagnostic error message. The guidance system had in fact shut down. � �This shutdown occurred 36.7 seconds after launch, when the guidance system's own computer tried to convert one piece of data -- the sideways velocity of the rocket -- from a 64-bit format to a 16-bit format. The number was too big, and an overflow error resulted. When the guidance system shut down, it passed control to an identical, redundant unit, which was there to provide backup in case of just such a failure.

But the second unit had failed in the identical manner a few milliseconds before. And why not? It was running the same software. � �This bug belongs to a species that has existed since the first computer programmers realized they could store numbers as sequences of bits, atoms of data, ones and zeroes: 1001010001101001. . . . A bug like this might crash a spreadsheet or word processor on a bad day. Ordinarily, though, when a program converts data from one form to another, the conversions are protected by extra lines of code that watch for errors and recover gracefully. Indeed, many of the data conversions in the guidance system's programming included such protection. � �But in this case, the programmers had decided that this particular velocity figure would never be large enough to cause trouble. After all, it never had been before. Unluckily, Ariane 5 was a faster rocket than Ariane 4. One extra absurdity: the calculation containing the bug, which shut down the guidance system, which confused the on-board computer, which forced the rocket off course, actually served no purpose once the rocket was in the air. Its only function was to align the system before launch.

So it should have been turned off. But engineers chose long ago, in an earlier version of the Ariane, to leave this function running for the first 40 seconds of flight -- a "special feature" meant to make it easy to restart the system in the event of a brief hold in the countdown. � �The Europeans hope to launch a new Ariane 5 next spring, this time with a newly designated "software architect" who will oversee a process of more intensive and, they hope, realistic ground simulation. Simulation is the great hope of software debuggers everywhere, though it can never anticipate every feature of real life. "Very tiny details can have terrible consequences," says Jacques Durand, head of the project, in Paris. "That's not surprising, especially in a complex software system such as this is." � �These days, we have complex software systems everywhere. We have them in our dishwashers and in our wristwatches, though they're not quite so mission-critical. We have computers in our cars -- from 15 to 50 microprocessors, depending how you count: in the engine, the transmission, the suspensions, the steering, the brakes and every other major subsystem.

Each runs its own software, thoroughly tested, simulated and debugged, no doubt. � �Bill Powers, vice president for research at Ford, says that cars' computing power is increasingly devoted not just to actual control but to diagnostics and contingency planning -- "Should I abort the mission, and if I abort, where would I go?" he says. "We also have what's called a limp-home strategy." That is, in the worst case, the car is supposed to behave more or less normally, like a car of the pre-computer era, instead of, say, taking it upon itself to swerve into the nearest tree. � �The European investigators chose not to single out any particular contractor or department for blame. "A decision was taken," they wrote. "It was not analyzed or fully understood." And "the possible implications of allowing it to continue to function during flight were not realized." They did not attempt to calculate how much time or money was saved by omitting the standard error-protection code. � �"The board wishes to point out," they added, with the magnificent blandness of many official accident reports, "that software is an expression of a highly detailed design and does not fail in the same sense as a mechanical system." No.

It fails in a different sense. Software built up over years from millions of lines of code, branching and unfolding and intertwining, comes to behave more like an organism than a machine. � �"There is no life today without software," says Frank Lanza, an executive vice president of the American rocket maker Lockheed Martin. "The world would probably just collapse." Fortunately, he points out, really important software has a reliability of 99.9999999 percent. At least, until it doesn't. First published in the New York Times Magazine 1 December 1996 � � � � NASA - European Cargo Ship Launches to Space Station European Cargo Ship Launches to Space Station 03.23.12 The "Edoardo Amaldi" Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 launches atop an Ariane 5 rocket from the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: NASA TV The European Space Agency's third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3) launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket from the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana, at 12:34 a.m. EDT Friday, beginning a six-day journey to the International Space Station.

The 13-ton "Edoardo Amaldi" spacecraft, named in honor of the 20th-century Italian physicist who is regarded as one of the fathers of European spaceflight, is delivering 7.2 tons of propellant, water and supplies to the six crew members aboard the orbital laboratory. › Watch a video of the launch After launch, ATV-3 separated from the Ariane rocket’s upper stage and was placed into a preliminary orbit. More than an hour and a half after launch, ATV-3 deployed its solar arrays, which unfolded to generate power from sunlight. Like its two predecessors that flew to the station in 2008 and 2011, the Edoardo Amaldi will conduct a slow, methodical trek to the complex under the guidance of engineers at the Automated Transfer Vehicle Control Center in Toulouse, France. It will dock automatically to the aft port of the Russian Zvezda service module at 6:32 p.m. on March 28. NASA TV coverage of the docking will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Edoardo Amaldi is expected to remain at the outpost through early September, when it will undock and be commanded to deorbit and burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

Question: Which space agency built the 'Ariane' rocket?
Answer: EUROPEAN